Brazilian presidential candidate dies in plane crash

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos died in a plane crash on August 13. The plane carrying Mr. Campos came down in bad weather as it prepared to land in the port city of Santos, in Sao Paulo state. The tragedy not only killed all seven people on-board the plane, but also injured a dozen others on the ground when the plane crashed. One witness, a trainee pilot, said he heard a loud noise and saw the plane flying low before it crashed into a house and then the ground. Eduardo Campos, 49, was a well-known politician running in his first presidential election as a candidate for the Brazilian Socialist Party. He was most recently the Governor of Pernambuco State and was a federal lawmaker from 1998 to 2003. The country’s air force said the plane crash was due to bad weather, but it is continuing to investigate the accident. His plane was en route from Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont airport to Guaruja airport outside Sao Paulo, according to air force spokesman Pedro Luis Farcic. President Dilma Rousseff, who is standing for a second four-year term, has declared three days of national mourning and cancelled her campaign events./.